Rhythm of a New Song
by Noobycakes
Summary: When Heaven's Gate disappeared, it reappeared in Sternbild City, along with Contractors. R&R
1. Chapter 1

The whir of the helicopter rotors made a constant thrum, deafening its occupants, but that didn't stop the news anchor from doing his job. He still yelled out commentary through the noise, and buffeting winds, hundreds of feet above his story. Heroes gathered on the ground.

"Welcome to Hero TV! Today we bring you breaking news unlike anything we have ever seen before," the news anchor yelled into his mike, the camera beside him zooming in onto the scene playing out below. "Out of nowhere, a giant wall appeared on the outskirts of the city, and around eighty to one hundred people appeared out of thin air! The hero's don't even know what to do!"

Below, said hero's where standing around confusedly, wondering why they had been called if there had been no crime committed. They upheld justice, not mysteries.

Across from the hero's, a large group of people stood around confusedly. One particular lady closest to the hero, Wild Tiger, was looking around, trying to piece together what had happened. One moment, it was night, and all hell had broken lose. Syndicates fighting each other in a mass war for dominance in front of Heaven's Gate, Contractors and Dolls were dying left and right, and then, suddenly, it was day, and they were someplace unknown.

Kadence shook her head, holding an injured arm that was bleeding slowly, but steadily. She had tied her brown hair in a tight pony tail, knowing that there was going to be a fight. She was also dressed in sneakers, a pair of jeans for maneuverability, and a casual shirt, all of which was streaked in blood, bother hers and other peoples. Her grey eyes glinted dully, exhausted. Her brain had been working since the transportation – what else could it be?- and she was the first to act.

"Cadenza Syndicate, retreat!" She yelled out to her group, a plan already forming in her mind. They couldn't continue to fight in this kind of situation. They had to regroup, and figure things out.

Her command broke the stupor. Chaos ensued as her syndicate members broke off, running in every direction, trying to hide themselves amongst the city. The enemies of the Cadenza leapt into action as well. A few took Kadence's lead and fled as well, preferring to fight another day, others wished to finish what they had started, striking at exposed backs or dueling each other.

"Hey, wait a moment!" Wild Tiger yelled as people ran past him and his comrades, who were frozen in confusion. He caught Kadence as she tried to run by. "Oi, wait a moment."

"Let me go!" Kadence yelled, and her eyes glowed red, and blue hue appeared around her body. She activated her telekinesis, and flung the armored man backwards into Fire Emblem, knocking them both to the ground.

The newscaster had zoomed in on this, exclaiming, "It would appear that there are NEXT mixed in, but something seems odd." He directed the camera to a fight between Contractors. "I've never seen NEXT's eyes glow like that before, aren't they supposed to be blue, not red? What does this mean?"

Meanwhile, the producer of Hero TV, Agnes, was relaying instructions to Wild Tiger and Barnaby. "You can't get all of them, there's too many, so just grab one. We need to ask them questions."

"Right," Barnaby said, fixing his gaze on the girl that Wild Tiger had grabbed. While her NEXT power was intimidating, she seemed to be weak. She was hunched over, breathing heavily, and her eyes were dark and sunken. He just needed a glance at her arm wound to know it was blood loss. They just had to wait until she passed out.

"Hey, miss, that wasn't cool," Wild Tiger said, getting back up, and helping his friend up. He walked over to stand beside his partner.

Kadence stood her ground. She couldn't have run if she wanted to. Instead she glanced behind her, noting that most of her people had run off; they were safe. Another look around told her that these dressed up freaks had their eye on her. Why? She wondered. Was it because she had spoken up first? No matter, she could gain knowledge on the situation by being caught.

"Will you give yourself up?" Sky High said loudly, pointing a gauntleted finger at her.

She looked at him wearily. Her legs collapsed underneath her and she fell to the ground.

"I'll take that as a yes. Let's get her to a hospital," Wild Tiger said, walking up to her, lifting up his faceplate to reveal his dark skin and masked orange eyes beneath.

He knelt down, and picked her up. She made no move to resist, letting him carry her slowly away from Heaven's Gate. "You can't die, got that?" He said suddenly, looking straight ahead.

The statement shocked her. She looked up at him. "What, are you some kind of hero?"

"Yes," was his response. She expected him to laugh, or to hear a trace of sarcasm in the answer, but none came.

Tired now, Kadence rested her head on his chest. These people were weird, that's for sure. "Don't worry, I can't die yet," she said. If she had looked up, she would have seen him smile in relief. "I don't suppose that suit of yours can play music?" Kadence asked wearily. How she wished she could let sleep claim her, but it was too dangerous. She meant what she said when she told him she can't die yet.

"Eh? Actually, I'm not sure," he was taken aback by the question. "What kind of music do you want?"

"Country. Please, if you're able to, do so. If not, take me by someplace that can before the hospital. It's tantamount," Kadence said cryptically.

"Um, Saito, can you do it?" Wild Tiger asked through the suits communicator. A couple seconds later, country music blared through his PA system, and the girl relaxed in his arms. He was genuinely curious, but noticed that she was drifting off, and quickened his pace to a run. He could always ask her later.

**A/N: The story will be switching from Third Person POV to First person POV. Whenever First person POV shows up, it'll always be from Kadence's point of view, third person will be dealing with everyone else. I know it makes no sense, but I'm experimenting LOL. Please don't let that scare, and read on ^_^ Enjoy**


	2. Chapter 2

Beep. Beep. Beep. An annoying heart monitor aroused me from my sleep. The light hurt my eyes, so I opened them slowly, waiting patiently for them to adjust. When I could open them fully, I took in my surroundings.

It looked like an ordinary hospital room, pristine whiteness. Two comfy chairs for visitors stood nearby my clean bed. A single window stood opposite the door, and a bathroom was straight across from me. I could feel many stitches in my arm underneath slightly bloody bandages. An IV fed blood to me from a hanging bag, seeing it made me slightly nauseous. I averted my eyes, and saw my Ipod sitting on the desk next to me.

My hospital room door opened, and the man who brought me here walked in, this time he was wearing street clothes, and I got a better look at him. Aside from what I saw of him before, his hair was thick and black, and he a neatly trimmed beard. He wore a striped hat, slacks, and a green button up with a sweater vest over it. He was clean, and sharp. I felt my heart flutter slightly, adding yet more confusion to me.

Immediately after him walked in another man, this one his opposite. He was pale like me, with medium length, wavy blonde hair. He wore glasses over his sharp blue eyes, and was dressed in a more western looking outfit. Whereas the older man was lax, he was more disciplined.

"Ah, you're awake. That's good, they weren't sure you were going to make it, so how do you feel?" The older man smiled, walking over and sitting in an open chair.

His proximity caused my heart to flip once more. My loathing to my body's reaction must have shown on my face, because he said, "Uh, sorry if I said anything wrong."

I just stared at him as the other man sat down. "They'll be here soon to question you," he said, pushing up his glasses.

Of course, I thought. I was a prisoner. "Who are you?" I asked, my gaze turned to the ceiling. I don't know what spurred the question, I guess it was just the desire to know something.

"We forgot introductions, sorry!" The older one said. "I'm Wild Tiger, and this is my partner, Barnaby."

"What kind of name is Wild Tiger?" I asked.

"It's my cover name."

"So you being a hero wasn't a joke?" I asked, remembering our conversation before I passed out. I turned to look at him again, to look at a hero. I honestly didn't think that they existed, that they were just child's stories. I sat up on my good arm.

"No, we are both real Hero's, right Bunny?" Wild Tiger smiled at his friend.

"It's not Bunny, it's Barnaby, and yes, we are Hero's." Barnaby noticed me just staring at them. "What?"

"I didn't think they existed."

"What? You didn't think Hero's were real?" Wild Tiger asked incredulously, as if the thought had never occurred to him. I shook my head, and we sat there in silence as they were at a loss for words.

Police walked in. "Thanks for watching her, we'll be taking over now," they nodded their heads to the hero's.

Barnaby stood up, and as they were about to leave, Wild Tiger stopped and said, "Be nice to her, ok?" He stared down the cop towering above me until he nodded, and then he left with his partner.

Cops and I didn't get along, so like hell I was about to stick around. I had enough blood now, thanks to the transplant, and I had gained enough rest that I was feeling better. Reaching over, I grabbed it, preparing to leave. Unfortunately, I had no idea where my clothes were, so I'd have to make do with my hospital gown until I found some.

I tapped into my telekinesis. The cop's eyes widened as he saw my eyes glow red, and opened his mouth to give out a shout, but it was too late. I flung him against the wall, cracking his head on it and knocking him out. His comrades quickly shared the same fate. I heard the pounding of feet as nurses ran, coming to check on the commotion. As I slammed the door shut with my power, I couldn't help but imagine a pair of those pattering feet belonged to Wild Tiger.

I quickly berated myself at the thought. What the hell was wrong with me? I'm a Contractor. I don't have a heart with which to fall in love with. The thought worried me. If I'm really having these feelings, does that mean I'm turning into something else? A Doll was out of the question; they have absolutely no feeling whatsoever, so that left one other option, a Moratorium. I shuddered at the idea. It should be impossible for a Contractor to devolve into one, right? As much as I wanted to believe that, I knew that there was a possibility that it could happen; we hardly knew anything about the Gate, let alone the powers it gave us.

As fists pounded the door, trying to get in, I gently pulled the IV out, spraying blood across the sheets. I gently bent my arm experimentally; finding it only ached a little, but was still functional. I knew that I was going to have a massive scar stretching from bicep to my wrist, and vowed to make the guy pay who did it. I stood up slowly, making sure I had my feet under me before I did anything, and placed a single earbud in my ear, flicking on the simple Ipod onto a quiet country song.

It was my price for using my power. I admitted that it wasn't as bad as others who had to physically harm themselves or others, but I still hated it. I never had liked country music, and found it ironic that I was forced to listen to it now.

Using my power once more, I broke out the window, giving thanks that I was on the second floor. As I was about to hop out, I heard a voice over the yells out in the hall.

"Stop! What're you doing?" Wild Tiger yelled at me, his face taking up the whole window.

I felt my heart react again, and worry came over me. Worry about the repercussions of this; fear of becoming a Moratorium. I turned and jumped out the window, racing off into the city, trying to lose myself in the labyrinth while blocking off my pursuers. I was racing down one particular alley when he found me.

"Boss!" Aaron yelled at me, appearing out of thin air, his eyes red with his power. I never thought I'd be glad to see the black haired rascal, but I was.

"Aaron, it's good to see a familiar face, but let's catch up later," I said, stepping into him.

"Sounds good," he said, wrapping a hand around my shoulders. I noticed that they were bandaged like mine. For the second time in 24 hours, I was teleported.

We appeared in a large, enclosed area. Windows near the ceiling let in the dimming light. The cement floor was dirty, covered in dust, and the only furnishings were empty barrels thrown haphazardly about. A few had been tipped over onto their sides, allowing the meager gathering of people places to sit rather than on the ground. I heard a grunt of pain as Aaron paid his price, stabbing himself through the arm.

"How much have you teleported?" I asked while calculating how much longer I had to pay my own.

"Five times now."

"Stop. Don't teleport anymore until your wounds heal unless your life depends on it," I ordered.

"But we're still missing people!"

"And there are ways to fetch them without teleportation." I looked around, dismissing any further arguments, looking for a particular person. Not seeing her, I asked, "Where's Fumikazu?"

"We lost her in the confusion, but we still have Rahzel. She's the one who led me to you," he informed me, balking somewhat when he stated our loss.

"Make sure you work on finding Fumikazu a priority. We can't let her fall into enemy hands."

"Right, about that…" Aaron started.

"What? It shouldn't be that difficult to find a Doll," I stared him down. While I felt that I had a nice personality, you can't be leader of a mercenary group and not have to get your hands dirty.

"It seems one of those dressed up people has her."

I sighed. You've got to be kidding me. "Who is it? Don't tell me it's the one called Wild Tiger."

Aaron smiled, happy that he could tell me something I wanted to hear. "It's the one known as Sky High. Unfortunately, we don't have our intelligence connections due to Heaven's Gate and all that, so we have to rely purely on the Dolls. I was having Rahzel follow Fumikazu through the power lines, and that's when we ran across you, Boss."

"So you know where she is?" I asked, referring to the missing Doll.

"Yes."

"Good. Let's rest tonight, and grab her tomorrow," I said, walking over and sitting down with the rest of my syndicate, Aaron on my heels.


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't believe you lost her!" Agnes was yelling at Kotetsu and Barnaby in their headquarters. The other Hero's stood around awkwardly, waiting for the scolding to finish.

"She's a powerful NEXT, and we didn't expect her to just up and go like that, she nearly died," Barnaby defended himself.

"Yes, well she up and left with all of our answers. Now we just have to sit and wait around for them to move just so we can figure out what kind of NEXT they are," the brown haired lady spat. She spun on her heel, and left the lounge glaring.

"So, do you guys have any idea about what happened down there?" Blue Rose asked, her blonde hair resting on her shoulders in waves.

"No idea," Kotetsu put his hands behind his head for a second, and then started walking out.

"You're leaving?" Blue Rose asked, taking a single step towards him. The move was not lost on Fire Emblem.

"Ya, there's no point in brooding on stuff we don't know," Kotestsu replied, disappearing through the automatic doors.

"I'm afraid I must leave as well, I have some business," Sky High said sheepishly, waving goodbye to his friends, and followed Kotetsu out. Barnaby quickly followed suit without a word.

* * *

><p>"Here's some tea," Sky High, now Keith as he was out of uniform, said, handing a cup of steaming tea to a silent girl, and sitting next to her.<p>

They were at his house, sitting on the comfortable cushions of his couch in front of a good sized flat screen TV. Everything was pristinely clean, even his dog was without a speck of dirt, sleeping on the fluffy rug under the coffee table.

Fumikazu was wearing a clean tank top and jeans, slightly ruffled from the fight that had taken place at Heaven's Gate. Her white hair was streaked with black, and done up in a tight ponytail, with two braided pieced hanging down the sides of her face, which was adorned two striped on either cheek. She just looked at the drink he offered.

"Are you not thirsty then? It's fine if you don't want it," Keith put the cup down on a coaster in silence. They sat like that until a thought struck him. "You aren't talking to me because I haven't introduced myself, right? I'm sorry, how can I be so rude? I'm Keith, what's your name?"

Fumikazu just stared at him, her blue eyes dull.

"Can't you tell me your name?" He asked.

"Fumikazu," she said finally, in a quiet voice.

Kieth's face lit up. "Fumikazu, it's nice to meet you!" She just nodded once in response. "So, um, you were with those people, weren't you?" No response. "Are you a NEXT?"

Fumikazu's eyes finally moved off of the dead TV, moving slowly to look at him. "Next?"

"You don't know what a NEXT is?" Keith exclaimed. She moved her head to the side. "A NEXT is someone with powers."

Fumikazu seemed to be in deep thought, and then shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention back to the off TV.

"Did you want to watch something?" Keith asked, flicking it on. They were met with the news.


	4. Chapter 4

The night passed uneventfully, but that's what I had hoped for. When I had woken up from the cold ground, Aaron proffered some clothes he had somehow acquired for me. I quickly changed into them after finding a secluded place outside behind the giant abandoned warehouse we had stuck up. I gave him some credit for finding some cute stuff. The top was a single shoulder strap, and flowed with my curves, accentuating them. The bottom was a matching mini skirt, with black leggings to keep myself properly covered should I need to fight. I had decided to wear my hair down.

Walking back inside, I shouted orders to my subordinates, wasting no time. While I did so, one girl, who used to aspire to be a doctor, unwrapped my dirty bandage. "Rahzel, write down the directions to where Fumikazu's being held." The Doll came over to me, starting to scribble on a piece of paper.

"Boss, I'd like to wrap it again, but we don't have any gauze. Please," she stressed the please," keep it clean."

I looked down at it. It was a gnarly sight. Stitches stretched the full length of the wound, keeping an otherwise open wound closed, but I could still see small parts where it opened up enough to see the red muscle beneath. I made a mental note to jack some gauze while I was out.

"Aleister, Cassiel, you'll be coming with me as back up. We'll head out after she's done with the map," I stated, singling out the two brothers.

"Right," they said in unison, coming to stand beside me while we waited for Rahzel to finish her appointed duty.

After a minute, the Doll held it out to me, which I grabbed and studied it. "You've got to be kidding me," I said flatly, disbelief wrote across my face.

"What is it?" I knew it was Aleister who had spoken, because his voice was very deep, unlike his brother's average one.

"The house is just down the block," I glanced at their green eyes, seeing the same stupid look cross their faces. "I suppose that makes this easy, right? We just have to be absolutely sure that no one sees us entering or leaving this place. Rahzel, keep an eye on us." Turning to the rest of my party, I said, "Let's go."

I flipped around, knowing that they'd be right behind me, and went out the back way, where I had changed. As I crept around the weed ridden corner, I glanced around. There were people walking to do their day's errands, or off to work. Cars zoomed along too quickly along the roads, their owners choosing the luxury of modern technology over hard work. A few birds chirruped to each other from among the green leafed trees.

I glanced back down at the map real quick, and then looked back down the street. There, that'd be the house. I pinpointed a nice looking, well-kempt house. It had a perfect yard, with perfect flowers, with a clean set of stairs leading up to a nice looking door.

"Cassiel, you come with me. Aleister, stay here, only come if you notice signs of a struggle," I told them, a plan forming in my mind.

I moved out into the crowd before they could say anything, grabbing Cassiel's hand so we wouldn't be separated. We immediately fell into the flow of the people; walking so that we wouldn't be in someone else's bubble so as to be noticed, but not too far away from the crowd as to stick out. As we got to Sky High's house, I strode up confidently, pulling a confused Cassiel behind me.

As I knocked loudly on the door, he asked hurriedly, "What are you doing?" His green eyes flashed with worry.

"Getting us in, of course," I stated. He'd open the door, I'd claim we lost something in his back yard, and when he went to go get it, we'd snatch Fumikazu up and run. Easy peasy. But the door never opened. "Hello!" I yelled at the door, but was met with silence.

My mood fell as a thought came over me. Were they even here? I quickly marched back to the headquarters, seeking out Rahzel. "Rahzel, is there anybody in the house currently?" I shoved my face in hers.

"No," she said.

I felt my power flow throughout my body, warming it, as I slammed her against the wall in my anger, denting it slightly. Everyone immediately stilled their conversations that had just been going on. "Why wasn't I told this?" I snarled.

Rahzel just coughed and wheezed, trying to gain back the breath I had knocked out. After a moment, she said, "I wasn't asked."

I felt a sudden urge to harm her, but quelled it. "That's why I like Fumikazu better. Where are they now?"

She looked at me with the dead eyes Dolls possessed. "The giant building shaped like a man. Top floor."

"Aleister, look outside. Do you see that building?" I demanded. I saw his eyes glow red as he looked through the wall of our temporary housing to the outside.

"Yes, it's deeper in the city," he said quickly.

After etting what I needed to know, I let lose my earlier urge. Glancing behind me, I saw a long, thin pipe lying flat on the ground, forgotten. Picking it up was no problem for my ability, and I flung it at the helpless Doll, piercing her head and ending her pitiful existence while pinning her to the wall, an example to the others.

I looked into each pair of horrified eyes that stared on at me. "It seems that you've been getting a little lax in our new environment. Let me make this clear," I addressed everyone. "This is not a vacation. It's a race. A race of who can gather their Syndicate first, a race of who will wipe the other enemy Syndicate's out, a race for dominance. We have no time to be sent on fool's errands," I pointed dramatically at Rahzel's body. My mind being said, I flipped around to Cassiel and Aleister, smiling. "Now, let's go get our Doll, shall we?"


End file.
